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Motion of no Confidence on Premier Supra Mahumapelo to Proceed through Open Ballot System

Today, 12 April 2018, Speaker of the North West Provincial Legislature, Hon. Sussana Dantjie has announced that the Legislature will hold a Special House Sitting on 17 April 2018 at 9h00 to debate a Motion of no Confidence against the Premier of the North West Province, Hon Supra Mahumapelo. The motion which will proceed through an open ballot system, was tabled by the Economic Freedom Fighters on the 08 March 2018.

Hon. Dantjie said in terms of the process followed, the motion was first discussed at the Rules Committee on 27 March 2018 and in that meeting all parties agreed that the motion will be tabled for debate in the mentioned day. “The matter was further processed and programmed by Programming Committee held in Klerksdorp on 11 April 2018 and was accordingly programmed for the said date,” said Hon. Dantjie.
Today, 12 April 2018, Hon. Speaker met with the Whips of Political Parties represented in the Legislature to convey her decision on the request by the EFF to subject the motion to a secret ballot. “In making a determination on whether the ballot on the motion should be an open or secret ballot, I had to take into consideration all facts surrounding this motion and to ensure that members will be able to express their views without being subjected to undue influence, intimidation, fear of disapproval or anything like that,” said Hon. Dantjie.
She said it must be noted that it has not been easy for her to arrive at the decision and that although it was not easy, the EFF could not share at the meeting on the reasons for requesting a secret ballot on the motion except for their continuous uncontrolled urge to “pursue legal avenues should she not respond to them by the 10 April 2018.
“I take note of the fact that Motion of No Confidence in the Premier is one of the available tools of oversight for members of the Provincial Legislature to hold the Executive accountable. This avenue and many other processes of holding the Executive accountable has always been practiced in the Legislature without any fear or favour. We have since 2014, when I took over as the Speaker of the Legislature, never experience any situation where members of the Legislature are obstructed, intimidated, threatened, disapproved or in any manner influenced to take decision or action that would somehow make it difficult for them to express their constitution mandate of playing oversight on the Executive,” said Hon. Dantjie.
In closing, she said there seem not to be any risk by allowing the motion to be proceeded with in a democratically permissible voting procedure like it has always been done in this Legislature.